Ireland have suffered a huge blow ahead of their three-Test tour with New Zealand after Paul O'Connell failed his fitness test.

The second-row has now been ruled out of the entire tour with Connacht's Mike McCarthy stepping into the void. O'Connell had been undergoing rehabilitation on his knee injury in an attempt to make a recovery in time to take his place on the plane to New Zealand but his progress has not been as rapid as previously hoped.